Hikers won't be billed for search costs, officials say

Kyndall Jack, one of the two hikers who became lost for nearly a week in the Cleveland National Forest last week, reveals some of her wounds during a news conference outside UCI Medical Center in Orange on Monday. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Officials say they will not seek reimbursement for a large-scale, four-day search effort for a pair of teenage hikers rescued after they got lost in rugged terrain around Holy Jim Canyon.

With no criminal investigation under way, law enforcement officials don't believe there is a reason to have Kyndall Jack, 18, or Nicolas Cendoya, 19, pay for the cost of their own rescue, said Gail Krause, an Orange County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.

The full cost of the rescue effort, which included search and rescue teams and aircraft from numerous local agencies, is being tabulated.

"It was obviously a very complex operation that included numerous agencies," Krause said.

The cost will undoubtedly be substantial, however, with Orange County Fire Authority officials estimating that their cost alone was $55,000, a figure that includes helicopter flight time.

Jack and Cendoya, classmates from Orange Coast College, embarked on their Easter day hike early in the afternoon, planning to head to the mountaintops to touch low-hanging clouds.

By nightfall, the pair realized they were lost and running out of water. In a pair of 911 calls made on a dying cellphone, Cendoya struggled to provide directions to authorities after telling them the pair had made a detour up the mountain.

More than 100 people, including numerous volunteers, spent days seeking signs of the pair.

Three days into the search, Cendoya was discovered dehydrated and delirious in an area of thick brush. On the fourth day, Jack was found lying on a rock ledge about 1,500 feet away, hypothermic, confused and showing signs of dehydration.

Both hikers have said they remembered little from their ordeal other than the hallucinations they suffered while out in the wild and don't know how they got separated.

Krause said members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors have inquired into the cost of the rescue operation.

Since a criminal investigation did not occur, Sheriff's Department investigators did not pursue toxicology tests of either of the hikers, Krause said.

Meanwhile, a reserve deputy who fell 60 feet and was seriously injured while trying to reach Jack has begun rehabilitation and physical therapy at a hospital after being released earlier in the week from an intensive-care unit.

Kyndall Jack, one of the two hikers who became lost for nearly a week in the Cleveland National Forest last week, reveals some of her wounds during a news conference outside UCI Medical Center in Orange on Monday. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Nicolas Cendoya, 19, of Costa Mesa credits God with rescuing him. He was released from Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo on Sunday. He and friend Kyndall Jack were lost while hiking in the Cleveland National Forest on Easter Sunday. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A Los Angeles County sheriff's rescue helicopter stands April 4 by after delivering rescued hiker Kyndall Jack, 18, to UCI Medical Center in Orange. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Search and rescue personnel unload a Los Angeles County sheriff's rescue helicopter April 3 after finishing their shift in searching for Nicholas Cendoya, 19, and Kyndall Jack, 18. KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A San Bernardino rescue dog is taken off a Los Angeles County sheriff's rescue helicopter April 3 after searching for Nicholas Cendoya, 19, and Kyndall Jack, 18. KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dawn Jack, at left, the mother of missing hiker Kyndall Jack, 18, gets a hug from volunteer pilot Dana Potts on April 3; the hikers had not been seen since March 31. Kyndall's dad, Russ Jack, is center and brother-in-law Chris Ramey is at right. MINDY SCHAUER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Friends of missing teen Kyndall Jack wait for news after reports of rescuers finding her hiking partner Nicholas Cendoya, 19, on April 3. KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
This photo provided by Los Angeles County search and rescue reserve Deputy Doug Cramoline shows the helicopter rescue April 4 of Kyndall Jack, 18, by an L.A. County deputy. The hiker had been missing since March 31. A rescue team followed the sounds of a screaming female voice to an almost vertical canyon wall where they found Jack clinging to a rocky outcropping. DOUG CRAMOLINE, L.A. COUNTY SEARCH AND RESCUE RESERVE, DEPUTY

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